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Friday, November 21, 2008

My Week in Comics is a weekly look into my…uh…buying habits. Keep in mind that the reviews to be read here are not coming from a jaded, old comic book enthusiast but more of a wide-eyed fan of these monthly installments of yum or mush.

Also, *SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!*

It's been pretty hectic for me these past few days, but not too hectic as to not enjoy New Comics Day! This week, we have Ink not being Ink at all, War Machine living up to his name, and Yeti fighting vampires...I think.

When a new comic called Yeti vs. Vampire offers its first issue for 99 cents, there’s just no excuse not to pick it up. With that said, the Yeti is here and so is the vampire, but there’s no versus happening here at all…well, unless you count werewolves eviscerated and snake-men ripped open alive (all in gory, cartoonish detail reminiscent of Mike Wieringo), but that’s not why you bought a comic called Yeti vs. Vampire in the first place.

From an interview with writer Miles Gunter, “Yeti vs Vampire is the story of Monda, a vampire fashion designer who sets out to capture the Yeti and use its exotic fur to create a line of ultra chic fur coats for her upcoming runway show in Milan.” A fashion designer? Wanting to kill Yeti to make fur coats? There’s just no way this could go wrong at all, except that you wouldn’t know this story was about a vampire going ala Cruela de Vil on the Yeti unless I told you so, which would have been helpful for such an accessible first issue. There's just not enough oomph to get me to read more about it, not even some freaking pencil sketches and character design extras. All in all, it’s an honest effort. But since you can get it for less than a dollar (55 pesos here), I really can’t complain. This is an easy 6 out of 10.

Christos Gage finally finds his pace in War Machine: Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D. #35, having Rhodey and the Winter Guard (Russia’s super-team) kick loads of Skrull ass and having more explosions than all Secret Invasion tie-ins combined! But the real star here is Crimson Dynamo, showing a noble and heroic streak by ignoring orders from Mother Russia to help War Machine waste some Skrulls. Being Gage, it comes off as badass without laying the dramatics thick, and it’s better for it. As for the art, Sean Chen’s work has been stronger in other books (like the first few issues of Nova) but it’s more than adequate here, and besides, I like how he drew Crimson Dynamo in my favorite version of his armor! That, and another sweet Adi Granov cover gives this an explosive 8 out of 10.

Finally, there’s Young X-Men #8, the one where we find out that Ink isn’t a mutant at all, and the reason why his tattoos give him powers is revealed. I didn’t think having a tattoo artist that can give powers to people via tattoos was a big deal at first, but Marc Guggenheim makes the implications of it so painfully clear now that I’m kicking myself for not realizing it sooner. It’s those sorts of twists that get me hooked, and it works. Rafa Sandoval’s pencils are okay to work with, but for me Yanick Paquette owned this book from issue one. I don’t know if he’s just filler or the regular penciler now, so I’ll give him a couple of issues more to work that out. This one is an 8 out of 10.

So what’s the verdict? Well, too bad Yeti vs. Vampire didn’t even try to live up to the hype associated with the ‘awesome thing versus awesome thing’ trope, even at such an accessible price. Fortunately, two solid reads from War Machine and Young X-Men saved this week.

Got any questions, comments or violent reactions? Then give it to me straight by leaving a comment below. My Week in Comics is now up every Friday. Thanks for reading!

Be the grains of sand, and nothing but time will take you. The rocks must become it, the waves and wind must bear it and those who would hold it find it slips through their grasp. Always some trace in a faraway nook, if never the whole is seen again.